Review | Begars Abbey

by VL Valentine

Published : 28th April 2022

Publisher : Viper Books

Format : Kindle, Audio, Hardback, Paperback

Genre : Gothic Thriller

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Synopsis

A dark house filled with darker secrets...

Winter 1954, and in a dilapidated apartment in Brooklyn, Sam Cooper realises that she has nothing left. Her mother is dead, she has no prospects, and she cannot afford the rent. But as she goes through her mother's things, Sam finds a stack of hidden letters that reveal a family and an inheritance that she never knew she had, three thousand miles away in Yorkshire.

Begars Abbey is a crumbling pile, inhabited only by Lady Cooper, Sam's ailing grandmother, and a handful of servants. Sam cannot understand why her mother kept its very existence a secret, but her newly discovered diaries offer a glimpse of a young girl growing increasingly terrified. As is Sam herself.

Built on the foundations of an old convent, Begars moves and sings with the biting wind. Her grandmother cannot speak, and a shadowy woman moves along the corridors at night. There are dark places in the hidden tunnels beneath Begars. And they will not give up their secrets easily...

My Review

This was such a great read. It has all the elements needed for a chilling read that kept my page-turning long after I should have put it down at night.

The story itself is wrapped in gothic eerieness, family secrets and steeped in darkness. I love a gothic thriller and the atmosphere that surrounded me whilst reading definitely drew me into the spine-tingling past in which the book is set.

Told from the narrative of a young woman, Sam lost her mother and feels lost and alone with no family.

Whilst sorting through her mother's belongings she discovers she has a grandmother in England who is still alive.

Why I Loved It

I really enjoyed the way the author wrote this book. Sam's character really drew me in and I felt trepidation for her throughout, especially when she arrived at the mysterious Begars Abbey.

All of the characters surrounding Sam are dark and peculiar. They are clearly hiding something from Sam and this only keeps you page-turning more.

Q. Do you like scary reads?